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All Chapters of A Thousand Hearts Too Late: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

"Apologize."Trevor Jenson's voice was ice-cold.The private dining room fell silent. Every eye turned to me.I was still clutching the cashmere scarf, now covered in lobster bisque. Soup trickled down the soft fringe and onto the carpet."Trevor, let it go."Giselle Winslow came over to me. "Tessa doesn't always understand what she's doing. She didn't mean it. It's just a scarf."Trevor's mother, Belinda Gardner, scoffed. "Giselle, you're too kind. That idiot has been at Trevor's side for ten years and still hasn't learned any manners. But she's certainly learned how to throw a fit when she wants his attention."Trevor didn't even look at Giselle. He kept his eyes fixed on me."Tessa, I told you to apologize."I blinked as the system counted down in my head. "Six days and two hours until you leave this world."I turned to Giselle and lowered my head. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I'll wash it for you."Giselle's hand froze in midair. She hadn't expected me to apologize so r

Chapter 2

I crouched down and slowly began gathering the paper hearts.Trevor sighed, sounding resigned. "Tessa, you're 25, not five. Giselle's moving in today. Hurry up and clean up the living room."Giselle came over and slipped her arm through Trevor's. "It's okay, Trev. It was partly my fault too. I'll help her."She bent down to help me pick them up, but Trevor pulled her back."Don't baby her. She can clean it up herself."Then he led Giselle into another room.It took me a long time to clean everything up on my own. A shard of glass cut my finger, and blood ran down my hand.I went to ask Trevor where the first-aid kit was. But when I pushed open the door, I found Giselle opening a small metal box.It was my treasure box.It held everything Trevor had given me over the past ten years, including a wooden puppet with a broken string, an old pen he used to use, and a plastic hair clip he'd bought me with his first paycheck.Giselle picked up the pen and examined it curiously."Tre

Chapter 3

I was severely allergic to peanuts.The sticky peanut butter coated my throat. Within seconds, my throat began to swell and itch, and I could barely breathe."Trevvy…" I forced out Trevor's name, desperate for help.He glanced at me and immediately frowned. "Tessa, Giselle went to all the trouble of making these sandwiches. Finish yours. Don't be picky."I couldn't make another sound. All I could do was gesture with my hands, but Trevor thought I was throwing a tantrum because I was being picky."You need to stop being so picky, Tessa. Eat. I'll sit right here and watch you. We're not going home until you finish it."I looked down at the sandwich in my hand, then at Trevor's cold expression. In the end, I lowered my head and forced myself to take one painful bite after another.Giselle laughed softly beside us. "See? Tessa's being so good. She finished it all."By the time I forced down the last bite, a red rash had spread across my neck, and my face was flushed and burning.I

Chapter 4

Giselle set down her glass. The gentle expression she always wore around Trevor disappeared.I was wiping water from the coffee table when I looked up at her."Tomorrow," I said.Giselle paused, caught off guard by how readily I answered. Her lips curled slightly, as though she thought I hadn't understood her at all."Tessa, do you even understand what I mean? You can't keep living with us. This is going to be my home with Trev, not yours."I stopped what I was doing and looked at her.Giselle continued, "Trev's about to be promoted to president of the Varellian region. Someone like you, who doesn't even understand basic everyday things, will only be a stain on his reputation and a burden to him."A cruel smile spread across her face. "Tessa, you need to disappear from Trev's life for good."The sudden change in her expression startled me.Before I could react, Giselle walked over to the display cabinet where Trevor kept his prized antiques. She opened it and took out a rare 1

Chapter 5

As the system's voice slowly faded away, the tangled mess that had filled my head for the past ten years suddenly unraveled. It felt like a long fever had finally broken.I woke up in a small coastal town down south. The name on my ID was Ariel Keller.The system had given me a believable new life. I had grown up in an orphanage, made it through college on financial aid, and now worked at a small independent bookstore in town.The sun was warm here, and the air carried a faint tang of salt. There was none of Vareston's dryness or the suffocating rules I had lived under there.Before long, this place began to feel like home.The bookstore owner was a kind retired teacher, and most days, I ran the place by myself. I shelved books, made coffee, and listened to the waves.Life was peaceful and easy.Every now and then, tourists from up north would come through town and gossip about Vareston."Did you hear? Trevor Jenson from Jenson Group has completely lost it.""Of course I heard

Chapter 6

Trevor stared hard at my face, searching my expression for the slightest sign that I was pretending.He found none. My gaze was clear and direct, with none of the childlike confusion or dependence he remembered."No… No way…"He staggered back a step and bumped into the bookshelf beside him. Several books fell from the shelf and landed at his feet.Suddenly, he started digging frantically through his pockets.It took him a moment to pull out a badly worn phone. Then he produced another old phone, its screen spiderwebbed with cracks, along with a clear, sealed plastic bag. Inside the bag was a yellowed note."Look. You left this for me."He pressed the note flat on the glass counter, his fingers trembling so badly he could barely keep it in place."Tessa Tilley" had been written across the paper 20 times in crooked handwriting.His voice came out hoarse and raw. "It was pouring the day you left. When I got home, I couldn't find you anywhere. I thought you were hiding in the clo

Chapter 7

Trevor's voice was low and commanding. "Take your hand off her."Lance frowned. Instead of letting go, he pulled me a little closer."Sir, you're causing a scene in the bookstore where my girlfriend works. Don't you think that's a little out of line?""Girlfriend?"Trevor looked as if he'd just heard something utterly absurd. His mouth twisted into an ugly, humorless smile, but the panic in his eyes gave him away.His eyes locked on me. "Tessa, stop this. Come home with me."Trevor reached for me, but Lance blocked his hand before he could touch me.Lance's voice turned cold. "Sir, show some respect."I patted the back of Lance's hand to let him know I was fine, then looked Trevor straight in the eye."Sir, I've already made myself very clear. My name is Ariel, not Tessa. I don't know you. If you keep bothering me, I'll have no choice but to call the police."Trevor's hand froze in midair. He stared at the cold, distant look in my eyes. It was a look he had never seen from me

Chapter 8

Trevor's harassment finally came to a head one weekend evening.Lance had come to pick me up after work. We had plans to try a new seafood restaurant in town.When we stepped out of the bookstore, Trevor's car was parked at the curb. He was leaning against the car door, cigarette butts scattered around his feet.The moment he saw us, he put out the cigarette in his hand and strode over. He stepped in front of us, exhaustion and desperation in his eyes."Tessa, don't go with him."Lance immediately moved in front of me, his patience finally gone."Mr. Jenson, this has gone far enough. You're harassing her. Ariel and I are getting engaged next month, so please leave her alone.""Getting engaged?"Trevor reacted as if Lance had hit a nerve. He grabbed Lance by the collar."She's mine. She's been by my side since she was 15, and her life belongs to me! Who the hell are you to say you're going to marry her?"Lance was usually mild-mannered, but even he was angry now. He shoved Tre

Chapter 9

In the restaurant's private dining room, Lance cracked open a crab leg, pulled out the meat, and set it on my plate with a little melted butter."Try it. It's really good here."He smiled gently, as though the confrontation outside had never happened.I took a bite. It was sweet and tender.Back when I lived with Trevor, he hated seeing me get my hands messy with shell-on seafood. If I reached for any, he'd hand me a wet wipe and tell me to clean my hands.But for Giselle, he would carefully crack the shells and put the meat on her plate.Lance held out a napkin. "Good?"I took it and dabbed the corner of my mouth. "Really good."Through the partially open window, I could still see Trevor standing beneath a streetlight across the road. He had no umbrella. The cold winter drizzle fell steadily on him.He stood there motionless, staring fixedly at our window like a man who had lost everything.I looked away and went back to eating.Lance and I finished dinner in silence. After

Chapter 10

Trevor never came back. I heard he returned to Vareston the next day.Before he left, he bought every literary magazine in the bookstore. All because I had casually mentioned that one of the covers looked nice while I was stocking the shelves.The bookstore owner looked at the thick stack of cash and sighed. "What a strange man."I didn't respond. I simply filled the empty shelves with new books.After that, life settled into a quiet, comfortable rhythm.Lance and I got married and bought a small house with a yard in town. We filled the yard with sunflowers. Every morning, I opened the window to sunshine and a view of the ocean.I stopped keeping up with anything happening in Vareston.Three years later, while sorting through some old books, I found an old newspaper tucked inside one of them. A short business article caught my eye."Jenson Group CEO Trevor Jenson officially steps down after suffering serious injuries in a car accident. He will donate all of his shares to charit

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